Senior Software Engineer, Applied ML and Evaluation

Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project, is at the forefront of autonomous driving technology with their Waymo Driver platform. As a Senior Software Engineer in the Perception Scene Semantics team, you'll be instrumental in developing ML models for critical scene understanding capabilities around construction, emergency scenes, mapless driving, and world changes. The role combines hands-on machine learning engineering with evaluation system design, requiring expertise in both ML frameworks and production-grade software development.

Working in a hybrid setting, you'll be responsible for designing and implementing evaluation systems for large-scale perception models, making data-driven recommendations, and creating advanced evaluation strategies using cutting-edge ML approaches like VLMs and active learning. The position offers an opportunity to directly impact the safety and performance of autonomous driving technology that has already provided over one million rider-only trips.

The ideal candidate brings 2+ years of industrial AI experience, strong programming skills in modern ML frameworks (JAX, TensorFlow, or PyTorch), and C++ proficiency. You'll join a team working on the complete ML pipeline from data mining to deployment, with the chance to influence critical safety systems through evaluation-driven insights. The role offers competitive compensation ($204,000-$259,000), comprehensive benefits, and the opportunity to work at a company that has driven tens of millions of autonomous miles across 13+ U.S. states.

This position is perfect for someone passionate about applying ML to real-world problems, with a keen interest in evaluation methodologies and a desire to work on technology that's actively shaping the future of transportation. You'll be part of a team that values both technical excellence and practical impact, working on systems that directly affect public safety and mobility.